Tuesday I finished my drive to Moab North Klondike camping which attracted about 4 campers. Stutter bump road in jars the incisors. Cost is $20 / night that I pay half price because of my seniors’ pass. I waited for solar gain for comfort. I rode out DIno to its end then returned on the easy trails on the west side of the valley.
No trees. I like riding these trails and Moab in general.
Spent the night snug as a bug in a chilly rug. So nice as the new heater works as engineered and as built.
Wed I had more of these trails. Weather forecast called for strong winds, gust to 40s. I pedaled Dino to Baby Steps climbing up to Mega Steps. I planned on continuing on Alaska which is more exposed to wind but chose to cut short by descending Mega Steps to Dino for return. I felt strong wind as I pedaled what I rode, Alaska would have been wind tough.
Spent another night. Quiet and chilly.
Thurs forecast was for precip including snow. I planned on a rest day to stay dry. Thurs was laundry day and I needed provisions necessitating town trip. Rain started. I picked up my mail, which contained my election ballot, on which I selected my choices then slid the vote by mail ballot directly into the post office out slot. Filled my water tanks at Gearheads. I stayed up on Sand Flats XG as the dirt was sand which is better to drive on than dirt mud. Snow started falling after dark and continued to before 10.
This morning the sun melted the snow up to an elevation and exposure setting. I parked the van with the rear pointing to the east. Again what happens is the rear of the van is warmed to a point that tells the heater thermostat I have reached the setting and shuts off, again the living room is chilly. While waiting for sun to melt snow I made 1 call to research my medigap insurance coverage. Amazing to me that who I selected was a broker who walked me thru my insurance needs. I picked Plan N which will save me almost $1,000 per year. While on the phone I didn’t watch the snow melt off.
Today I planned on driving up to Horse Thief. New friend Cory spent last night up there, he reported 2″ of snow and not melting. Today we made a plan to ride Bar M trails in the afternoon. We met then pedaled away. Cory is just 45, I only saw him at his rest stops.
I decided to stay low elevation at Willow Springs which is now pay $15 per vehicle per night. I scored my favorite spot up on the slick rock. Cory joined. Place is almost devoid of campers since the fee was implemented. In years past the place was packed. Willow Springs road goes thru state land, it is now a state park with undeveloped sites. Now there are numerous portipotties and even a dumpster. I checked 2 potties out seeing last service date was 2 days ago.
Tomorrow I plan on Riding Klonzo out the road. Hope is sun will melt off the snow up at Horse thief. Forecast is favorable for snow melt.